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Earthward Bound Foundation at a glance

· Private foundation

Earthward Bound Foundation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it accepted unsolicited grant applications.

$221k
Granted FY2025still arriving
71
Grants FY2025still arriving
8
States reached
$55k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$1.3MEducation$27kCrime & Legal$18kCivil Rights$16kAnimals$13kHealth$12kRecreation & Sports$11kPhilanthropy$11kOther$0
02FY2025 · 71 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k66 grants · $79k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $38k
  • $50k–250k2 grants · $105k
$750
Median grant
8
States reached
$6.8M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Cincinnati Public Radio$55,000
National Public Radio$50,000
Cincinnati Art Museum$17,500
StoryCorps$10,000
Clifton Cultural Arts Center$10,000
Art Academy Of Cincinnati$8,000
Contemporary Arts Center$7,500
Al Otro Lado$5,000
World Central Kitchen$5,000
Cincinnati Playhouse In The Park$3,500
Border Angels$3,000
Athenaeum Music & Arts Library$2,750
Manifest Creative Research Gallery$2,600
Joy To The World Namibia$2,500
Corporation For Findlay Market$2,500
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY18–25, $26k) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 98% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%Guide Dogs For The Blind: $500 → 8%Lighthouse Youth & Family Services: $250 → 16%Naral Pro-Choice America: $500 → 14%Al Otro Lado: $5k → 11%Border Angels: $3k → 11%Naral Pro-Choice America: $500 → 14%Al Otro Lado: $5k → 11%Talbert House: $100 → 16%Border Angels: $1k → 11%Al Orto Lado: $3k → 11%Border Angels: $500 → 11%Natal Pro-Choice America: $250 → 14%Lighthouse Youth & Family Services: $100 → 16%Lighthouse Youth & Family Services: $100 → 16%Lighthouse Youth & Family Services: $100 → 16%The Children's Home: $100 → 16%Soteni International: $100 → 16%Soteni International: $100 → 16%Soteni International: $100 → 16%Soteni International: $100 → 16%Cincinnati Works: $5k → 16%Cincinnati Works: $250 → 16%Cincinnati Works: $250 → 16%Cincinnati Works: $250 → 16%Cincinnati Works: $250 → 16%Cincinnati Works: $250 → 16%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

NH
WA
MT
IL
NY
MA
OH
CA
CO
NE
KY
VA
DE
AR
DC
GA
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

84%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$1.2M · 90 repeat orgs$223k to everyone else

90 repeat relationships: 62 still active in FY2025, 28 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

90
36

Total granted

$1.2M
$211k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+3%
+25%

Still filing today

71%
36%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $12k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureHuman ServicesEducationEnvironmentCommunity ImprovementHealthOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC
    3× · 2022–2025 · $140k · revenue +16%
  • SI
    STORYCORPS INC
    7× · 2017–2025 · $95k · revenue +61%
  • NF
    NPR FOUNDATION
    3× · 2017–2020 · $70k · revenue +49%

Funded once

  • CJ
    CALIFORNIA JAZZ CONSERVATORY INC
    one grant, 2017 · $125k · revenue -51%
  • MH
    Music Hall Revitalizaiton Company
    one grant, 2021 · $40k
  • CS
    Cincinnati Shakespeare Co
    one grant, 2019 · $10k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra

Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra (CCO) creates intimate, transformative experiences that connect the musically curious.

Arts & Culture
2
Cincinnati Museum Center

Cincinnati museum center inspires people of all ages to learn more about our world through science, regional history, and educational, engaging and meaningful experiences.

Arts & Culture
3
The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati

The mission of The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) is to educate, entertain and engage audiences of all ages through professional theatrical productions and arts education programming. Our vision is to awaken a lifelong love of…

Arts & Culture
4
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati

Ensemble theatre of cincinnati is a professional theatre rooted in historic over-the- rhine, dedicated to engaging, enriching and inspiring audiences through our thought-provoking world and regional premier productions, creating and…

Arts & Culture
5
Museum of Arts and Design

To collect, display and interpret objects in craft art and design.

Arts & Culture
6
Cincinnati Usa Regional Chamber

To grow the vibrancy and economic prosperity of the cincinnati region.

—
7
Central Indiana Corporate Partnership Inc

Central indiana corporate partnership (cicp) is an alliance of indiana's business and research university leaders coming together to foster long-term prosperity for the region. cicp's mission is to transform the economy of indiana in order…

Community Improvement
8
Cincinnati Usa Regional Chamber Foundation

To develop and promote economic development, talent initiatives and the unique offerings in the cincinnati region.

Community Improvement
9
Cincinnati Observatory Center

The mission of the cincinnati observatory is to maintain the integrity and heritage of an historic 19th century observatory and to educate, engage, and inspire our community about astronomy and science.

Arts & Culture
10
Cintrifuse

To empower Cincinnati entrepreneurs to launch bold, scalable startups; and we work to improve the odds of those startups growing into transformational companies.

Community Improvement
11
Columbus Zoological Park Association

Empowering people. saving wildlife.

Animals
12
Nashville Public Radio

Nashville public radio's mission is to be the most trusted & independent nashville voice, connecting our communities through non-partisan journalism, compelling storytelling, civil conversation and music discovery.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Cincinnati Museum Association; the most unlike its peers is Joy to the World Namibia. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

86 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 86 of the 137 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
15
Early backer (in before they grew)
85/86
Grantees still filing
46/86
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC: $140,000 · Arts & CultureNATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INCCincinnati Public Radio Inc: $127,000 · Arts & CultureCincinnati Public Radio IncCALIFORNIA JAZZ CONSERVATORY INC: $125,000 · Arts & CultureCALIFORNIA JAZZ CONSERVATORY INCCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $103,000 · Arts & CultureCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATIONSTORYCORPS INC: $95,000 · Arts & CultureSTORYCORPS INCMUSIC HALL REVITALIZATION COMPANY INC: $80,000 · Arts & CultureMUSIC HALL REVITALIZATION COMPANY INCClifton Cultural Arts Center: $54,250 · Arts & CultureClifton Cultural Arts CenterMUSICNOW: $30,000 · Arts & Culture+21 more: $92,116 · Arts & Culture+21 moreCincinnati Opera: $168,500 · OtherCincinnati OperaNational Public Radio: $90,000 · OtherNational Public RadioNPR FOUNDATION: $70,000 · OtherNPR FOUNDATIONMusic Hall Revitalizaiton Company: $40,000 · OtherMusic Hall Revitalizaiton Company+79 more: $134,375 · Other+79 moreAL OTRO LADO: $12,500 · Human ServicesCINCINNATI WORKS: $6,250 · Human ServicesBORDER ANGELS: $4,500 · Human ServicesJoy to the World Namibia: $2,500 · Human ServicesREPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL: $1,250 · Human Services+5 more: $1,650 · Human ServicesART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI: $11,600 · EducationLIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF LA JOLLA: $4,250 · EducationMAKING WAVES FOUNDATION INC AKA MAKING WAVES EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $2,500 · EducationThe Mercantile Library: $1,500 · EducationHIGH MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE INC: $1,100 · EducationST PAUL'S SCHOOL: $1,000 · EducationAMERICAN UNIVERSITY: $1,000 · Education+2 more: $400 · EducationWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $10,500 · InternationalMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,500 · InternationalDeer Hill Foundation: $10,500 · PhilanthropyCRAYONS AND BEYOND INC: $500 · Philanthropy+1 more: $200 · PhilanthropyCincinnati Parks Foundation: $10,200 · Recreation & Sports
Arts & Culture$846,366Other$502,875Human Services$28,650Education$23,350International$13,000Philanthropy$11,200Recreation & Sports$10,200

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetNATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC: $140,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCincinnati Public Radio Inc: $127,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetCALIFORNIA JAZZ CONSERVATORY INC: $125,000 over 1y, 3.1% of budgetCINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION: $103,000 over 8y, 0.1% of budgetSTORYCORPS INC: $95,000 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetMUSIC HALL REVITALIZATION COMPANY INC: $80,000 over 4y, 6.0% of budgetNPR FOUNDATION: $70,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetClifton Cultural Arts Center: $54,250 over 5y, 2.2% of budgetART OPPORTUNITIES INC: $15,750 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetThe Contemporary Arts Center: $13,750 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetCincinnati Opera Association Inc: $13,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetAL OTRO LADO: $12,500 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI: $11,600 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetCincinnati Institute of Fine Arts: $11,370 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetDeer Hill Foundation: $10,500 over 6y, 1.3% of budgetWORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC: $10,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCincinnati Parks Foundation: $10,200 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetCINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION: $8,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCINCINNATI WORKS: $6,250 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetCINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: $6,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetCincinnati Playhouse in the Park: $4,550 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetBORDER ANGELS: $4,500 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetLIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF LA JOLLA: $4,250 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPLANNED PARENTHOOD OF THE PACIFIC SOUTHWEST: $4,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetManifest Creative Research Gallery: $3,600 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetCENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY AND CIVIC LIFE: $3,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetIMMIGRANT FAMILIES TOGETHER FOUNDATION: $3,000 over 3y, 2.4% of budgetCorporation for Findlay Market: $2,955 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetJACOBS & CUSHMAN SAN DIEGO FOOD BANK: $2,600 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetENSEMBLE THEATRE OF CLEVELAND: $2,600 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetGREENLIGHT FUND INC: $2,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES USA INC: $2,500 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCINCINNATI DEVELOPMENT FUND: $2,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetMAKING WAVES FOUNDATION INC AKA MAKING WAVES EDUCATION FOUNDATION: $2,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetFREESTORE FOODBANK INC: $2,300 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetWave Pool Corp: $2,250 over 3y, 0.2% of budgetTHE CARNEGIE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS CENTER: $2,250 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetVisionaries and Voices: $2,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetGirls on the Run of San Diego: $2,000 over 1y, 0.5% of budgetZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CINCINNATI: $2,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetThe Mercantile Library: $1,500 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetREPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM FOR ALL: $1,250 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetKQED INC: $1,200 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHOSPICE OF CINCINNATI INCORPORATED: $1,200 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetOVER-THE-RHINE MUSEUM: $1,196 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetHIGH MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE INC: $1,100 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF MUSIC HALL: $1,050 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION INC: $1,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO INC ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Public Radio Inc ↗
  • Who funds CALIFORNIA JAZZ CONSERVATORY INC ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI MUSEUM ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds STORYCORPS INC ↗
  • Who funds MUSIC HALL REVITALIZATION COMPANY INC ↗
  • Who funds NPR FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds Clifton Cultural Arts Center ↗
  • Who funds MUSICNOW ↗
  • Who funds ART OPPORTUNITIES INC ↗
  • Who funds The Contemporary Arts Center ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Opera Association Inc ↗
  • Who funds AL OTRO LADO ↗
  • Who funds ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts ↗
  • Who funds Deer Hill Foundation ↗
  • Who funds WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN INC ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Parks Foundation ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI WORKS ↗
  • Who funds CINCINNATI SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park ↗
  • Who funds BORDER ANGELS ↗
  • Who funds LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF LA JOLLA ↗
  • Who funds PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF THE PACIFIC SOUTHWEST ↗
  • Who funds Manifest Creative Research Gallery ↗
  • Who funds CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY AND CIVIC LIFE ↗
  • Who funds IMMIGRANT FAMILIES TOGETHER FOUNDATION ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Carol Ann and Ralph V…The Thomas J Emery Me…Louise Taft Semple Fo…The Greater Cincinnat…Millstone FundJohn a Schroth Family…Sutphin Family Founda…The Wohlgemuth Hersch…Charles H Dater Found…Johnson Charitable Gi…Tr Uw Jacob Schmidlap…Jack J Smith Jr Chari…
Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr FoundationOH63.9× affinity29 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Carol Ann and Ralph V Haile Jr Foundation · The Thomas J Emery Memorial · Louise Taft Semple Foundation · The Greater Cincinnati Foundation · Millstone Fund · John a Schroth Family Char Tr · Sutphin Family Foundation Ica · The Wohlgemuth Herschede Foundation Co Fifth Third Bank Na Agent · Charles H Dater Foundation Inc · Johnson Charitable Gift Fund · Tr Uw Jacob Schmidlapp #1 · Jack J Smith Jr Charitable Trust

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Earthward Bound Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Earthward Bound Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%1%3%6%10%funder's share of their income ↑0%19%38%56%75%share of the org’s income from government →median 6%
  • From the Top Inc: 6% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
2get no government money at all
29report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–75%
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 137 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Earthward Bound’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home